SUPERVISORS OK MEDICAL POT ID

Medical marijuana users will finally be able to get county-issued
photo identification cards within four months even while their
ability to buy cannabis at legal local dispensaries is growing
increasingly difficult.

After four months of debate, the Orange County Board of Supervisors
on Tuesday approved establishing the ID program that cannabis users
say will protect them from law enforcement harassment and the seizure
of their pain medication.

But while the county board seemed to soften from what one doctor
called the "Cheech and Chong view" of marijuana, more and more Orange
County cities are enacting bans or moratoriums on medical cannabis
dispensaries. Aliso Viejo, Fullerton, Mission Viejo, Laguna Hills,
Placentia, Newport Beach and Seal Beach are among the cities moving
to outlaw the shops.

The latest city is San Juan Capistrano, where the city council
planned a vote Tuesday night on a moratorium after the city received
an inquiry about opening a medical marijuana dispensary there, said
Mayor Sam Allevato.

"There are potential problems with whether we'd be violating federal
laws and state laws on possession," he said. "I think we need further study."

Recognizing the cities' reluctance, the board said it would study
further the issue of dispensaries within certain zoned areas. The
county health agency doesn't keep track of dispensaries and medical
marijuana advocates would only say that there are some in the county,
but wouldn't disclose their locations. Most appear to be in
unincorporated areas of the county, where the shops don't fall under
a city's jurisdiction.

Orange County now joins 31 other California counties who already have
the ID card program that was mandated by a 2003 state law following
the voter-approved Proposition 215 in 1996.

Supervisor Janet Nguyen was the lone vote on the five-member board
against the plan, saying the drug is still illegal according to
federal law. She wanted to wait for a legal challenge to the state
law filed by San Diego County, a decision that may not come down for
at least another year.

But Supervisor Bill Campbell said he was convinced by a recent study
and doctors' testimony that shows marijuana is an effective treatment
for people's chronic pain, stimulating appetite and controlling
nausea. The cards would also be another tool for law enforcement, so
officers would know who is legally allowed to use and carry the drug, he said.

"This would free up law enforcement and the DA's time to address
other pressing public safety issues," Campbell said.

Cards for patients and caregivers will cost $150, and people on
Medi-Cal will pay a reduced rate of $75. Health care officials
estimate they will issue approximately 800 cards each year, which
will cost the county $63,672.

Supervisors Pat Bates and John Moorlach worried that the cards could
be abused and added a provision that would allow for revocation.
Bates also asked the county's attorneys to make certain that illegal
immigrants be barred from receiving the cards.